From the Editors Inthisissue,wepresenttwoarticlesthateachdealwitharareplant.Whenwehearaplantisrare, we often thinkit must be endangered, but this is not necessarilythe case. Being rare and being endangeredarenotequivalentstates. Rarityforaspeciesmaybequitenormal.So,whatdoesbeing rare, foraplant, reallymean? Thishasbeenarguedoveralongperiodoftime. Probablythemost widelyaccepted classification ofrarityis that ofRabinowitz, which reflects three spatial charac- teristics:populationsize,ecologicalspecialisationandgeographic range. Someauthoritiesinclude the frequency ofoccupancy in suitable habitats. Temporal rarity also is a consideration. Some speciesarecommon followingfire butbecome rarewithtime, asconditions change andbecome unsuitable - untilafterthenextfireevent. Unfortunately, formanyrareplants,beingrareisbecausetheyareundersometypeofthreatand facethepotential ofextinction.Yet, foralotoftheseplants,wehave noideaoftheimportanceof theirroleintheenvironment.Nordowenoticetheirpassing. Itispleasing,therefore,thatwecan presentthesetwoarticlesandhighlighttheneedtobemoreawareofwhatisaroundus. The VictorianNaturalist ispublishedsixtimesperyearbythe FieldNaturalists ClubofVictoria Inc RegisteredOffice:FNCV, 1GardeniaStreet, Blackburn,Victoria3130,Australia. PostalAddress:FNCV,POBox13,Blackburn,Victoria3130,Australia. Phone/Fax(03)98779860;InternationalPhone/Fax61 398779860. email:[email protected] www.fncv.org.au Addresscorrespondenceto: TheEditors,TheVictorianNaturalist, POBox13,Blackburn,Victoria3130,Australia. Phone:(03) 98779860.Email:[email protected] TheopinionsexpressedinpapersandbookreviewspublishedinThe VictorianNaturalistarethose oftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheFNCV.Copyrightofalloriginal materialpublishedinThe VictorianNaturalistremainswiththeauthor. YearlySubscription Rates-TheField NaturalistsClub ofVictoriaInc (asofJanuary2014) Membershipcategory Institutional Single $75 LibrariesandInstitutions Concessional(pensioner/Senior) $55 -withinAustralia $145 AdditionalConcessional $20 -overseas AUD155 Family(atsameaddress) $95 Junior $25 Additionaljunior(samefamily) $10 Schools/Clubs $85 Student $30 Allsubscriptionenquiriesshouldbesentto: FNCV, POBox13,Blackburn,Victoria3130,Australia (N.B.Newpostaladdress) Phone61 398779860.Fax61 398779862.Email:[email protected]